History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c8.2

v1.c8.2

The country, which is now known to us as Orissa, was originally included in the country or province of Kalinga. The modern term, Orissa, is derived from Odra, which is the name of a very small part of Orissa. The country of Kalinga was practically co-extensive with the Oriya-speaking tracts of Bihar and Orissa and Madras. It is also quite possible that portions of the Telugu-speaking districts to the north of the Delta of the Godavari were originally Oriya-speaking districts. The Godavari-Krishna Doab, especially that part of it which lies at the bottom of the Eastern Ghats, was the march-land between Kalinga and the Andhra country. An account of Orissa must, therefore, necessarily be an account of Kalinga or Greater Orissa, as she originally was, until the last days of her independence.